Driving mechanism.



PATENTED OCT. 24, 1905.

M. B. HULL. DRIVING MECHANISM. AVPPLIGATION FILED APR;6,1903.

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rw e16? PATBNTED OCT. 24, 1905.

M. B. HULL.

DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6,1903.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

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MAURICE B. HULL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT HOE, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

DRlVlNC-D: MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1905..

7 Application filed April 6, 1903. Serial N0.151,238,

To all whom it puny concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE B. HULL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Mechanisms,fully described and represented in the following specification and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in driving mechanisms.

In driving heavy machinerysuch, for instance, as printing-machines-it isdesirable to start the machine by a mechanism which will permit it torun at first at a low speed and to thereafter run the machine up to fullspeed. Furthermore, a mechanism by which the machine can be run at firstat a low speed not only permits the machine to be started more easily,but especially in printing machinery the low-speed mechanism enables themachine to be driven slowly while certain preparatory worksuch, forinstance, as making ready and the testing of adjustmentsis being done.

In some of the constructions heretofore employed the driving-shaft hasbeen driven by two engaging members such, for instance, as the parts ofa clutch which it has been neces sary to disengage when the speed waschanged from the low to the high speed-and in certain otherconstructions, where the engaging driving members remain in engagementwhen the change is made from low to high speed, the power for driving atthe high and low speeds has been derived from different sources.

The present invention has for its object to produce a simple, cheap, andeffective driving mechanism in which the same source of power is used todrive the machine when it is running at both low and high speeds and inwhich it is not necessary to interrupt the engagement between themembers which effect the low -speed driving when the change is made fromthe low to the high speed.

With this and other objects in view the invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations, aswill be hereinafter fully described. and then specifically pointed outin the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of one form ofdriving mechanism embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a section on theline 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to said drawings, 1 indicates a frame which may be of anysuitable or approved construction, the particular construction of theframe depending largely upon the style of machine in which the drivingmech anism is intended to be used. Supported in suitable bearings in theframe is a main driving-shaft 3, said shaft being provided in theconstruction shown with a fast pulley 4: and a loose pulley 5, althoughany other suitable driving means may be used instead of these pulleys.The pulleys in the construction shown are driven by means of a belt 6,which is in turn driven from any suitable source of power. (Not shown.)The beltmay be shifted from the fast tothe loose pulley by any suitableform of shifting mechanism. As shown, the belt is surrounded by a box 7which is connected to a bracket 8, said bracket in turn being secured toa slide 9, which is mounted on a rail 10, secured to the frame. As theslide moves on the rail the belt will be shifted from one pulley to theother. The movement of the slide may be effected in any desired manner.As shown, there is connected to the slide a link 11, which is in turnconnected to a crank-arm12. This crank-arm 12 is operated from a smallsegment 13, which may be conveniently formed on the hub of the arm, thearm and segment being loosely mounted on a stud extending from the rail10. This segment 13 engages with another segment 1 1, which is formed onor fast to an arm 15, mounted on a rock-shaft 16. When this rock-shaftis operated from a lever or by any other suitable operating means, saidmeans not being shown herein, as they have no bearing on the presentinvention, the arm 15 will be rocked and the belt shifted in the mannerhereinbefore described. I/Vhen the belt is on the fast pulley 4, saidpulley being, as before indicated, fast on the shaft 3, the shaft willbe driven at high speed, and the printing-machine or other machine whichthe shaft is intended to drivewill be run at its full speed.

The low-speed driving is effected from the same source of power as thehigh-speed driving-that is to say, from the belt 6-and includes adriving and a driven member, the driven member being adapted to runahead of the driving member when the speed is increased withoutinterrupting the engagement between the two. Furthermore, in thepreferred form of construction the connections by which the low-speeddriving is effected will include the loose pulley. The connections bywhich the belt and loose pulley effect the low-speed driving through thedriving and driven members and the construction of the membersthemselves may be widely varied. As shown, there is bolted to the hub ofthe loose pulley a pinion 17, which is in engagement with a gear 18 on acounter-shaft 19, said shaft being supported in suitable bearings 20,mounted on the frame. This shaft 19 carries a pinion 21, which is inengagement with a gear 22, which in the construction shown is looselymounted on the main shaft 3. The proportions of the gears 17 18 and 2122 will be varied according to the number of revolutions it is desiredto give the shaft 3 when the machine is running at the low speed.

In the preferred form of the construction the driving and driven membersbefore referred to will consist of a pawl and ratchet, and preferably,furthermore, and as in the construction shown, the pawl will be mountedon the gear 22. In the drawings this pawl is marked 23 and is pivoted at24 to one of the spokes of the gear 22, the pawl being held up to itsduty in any suitable manner as, for instance, by the ordinary spring-rodconstruction 25. In this form of the construction the ratchet whichcooperates with the pawl 23 will be loose on the shaft, properconstruction being provided to connect it to and disconnect it from theshaft when desired. In the construction shown the ratchet is marked 26.

The construction by which the ratchet is connected to and disconnectedfrom the shaft when such construction is employed may be of any suitablecharacter. In the preferred form of the construction a clutch will beused for this purpose. A suitable form of clutch is illustrated in thedrawings. This clutch includes a disk 27, having a rim 28, the diskbeing bolted to the hub of the ratchet 26. Secured to the shaft 3 bymeans of a key 29 or in any other suitable manner is a hub 30, whichcarries a series of small bell-crank levers 31. Cooperating with thesebell-crank levers are swinging plates 32, which serve to operate pairsof jaws 33 34, the jaws 33 being located on the outside of the rim 28 ofthe disk 27 and the jaws 34 being located on the inside. As shown, eachpair of jaws is connected together by means of a screw 35, which istapped into the jaw 34 and passes through a slot in the jaw 33. Each ofthe jaws 33 moves in a suitable guideway 36, these guideways beingformed on arms extending from the hub 30. W hen the bell-cranks and theswinging plates 32 are operated, the jaws move inward or outward, as thecase may be, thus clamping or releasing the rim 28 of the disk 27.

The operating devices for the bell-cranks may be of any suitablecharacter; but, as shown, they include a collar 37, mounted on the shaft3, said collar being connected, by means of links 38, to the outer armsof the bell-cranks. This collar is loose on the shaft and is movedtoward and away from the hub 30 in the construction shown by means ofarms 39, which are fast on a rock-shaft 40, said shaft being supportedin arms 41, which are fast on the frame. This shaft may be operated inany desired manner. As shown, it is provided with an operating-lever 42,which is connected to an arm 43, fast on the shaft. As usual inconstructions of this character, a brake may be provided, and one isherein shown, although it has no special connection with the presentinvention. As illustrated, this brake consists of a strap 44, whichpasses around a brake-pulley 45, fast on the shaft 3. The ends of thisstrap are connected to two short arms on a collar 46, fast on the shaft16, before referred to, so that the brake will be operated when the beltis shifted from the fast to the loose pulley, or vice versa.

With the construction before described it is apparent that when the beltis on the loose pulley, as shown in Fig. 1, the gear 22 will be driventhrough the gears 17, 18, and 21, and if the clutch is operated so as tolock the ratchet 26 to the shaft 3 the shaft will be driven at a speedwhich, as before indicated, is determined by the proportions of thereducing gearing. If now the belt be shifted to the fast pulley 4,which, as before described, is directly secured to the shaft 3, thespeed of the shaft will be immediately increased and the ratchet 26 willrun away from the pawl. This construction permits the shaft to bespeeded up as soon as the belt 6 begins to grip the fast pulley. It willbe furthermore noted that it is not necessary to cause the parts of theratchet and pawl to be disengaged, as the ratchet is free to run underthe pawl. There is therefore no possibility of failure on the part ofthe mechanism to act, and there is also nothing to break, as isfrequently the case in mechanisms of this character, in which thedisengagement of the engaging members which effect the slow-speeddriving has to be accomplished before the high-speed driving can beoperative. At any convenient time after the machine has been thrown intothe high speed the operator can by disengaging the clutch stop therotation of the ratchet 26, and thus prevent unnecessary wear on thepawl and ratchet and the unnecessary noise which would result from theclicking of the ratchet as it runs under the pawl.

Changes and variations may be made in the construction herein shown forcarrying the invention into effect. The invention is not, therefore, tobe limited to the specific construction hereinbefore described.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination with a shaft,of a driving member,means whereby said driving member may be driven at a given speed, adriven member in engagement with the driving member, means independentof said engaging driving and driven members whereby the shaft may bedriven at a higher speed than the speed of the driving member, saiddriven member being adapted to run ahead of the driving member withoutbeing disengaged therefrom, and means for connecting said driven memberto and disconnecting it from the shaft, substantially as described.

. 2. The combination with a shaft,of a driving mechanism including amoving pawl and ratchet, said mechanism operating to drive the shaft ata given speed, and means independent of the pawl and ratchet for drivingthe shaft at a higher speed, said means being brought into operationwithout interrupting the engagement between the pawl and ratchet,substantially as described.

3. The combination with ashaft,ofadriving mechanism including a pawl andratchet for driving the shaft at a given speed, means for connecting oneof said members to and disconnecting it from the shaft, and meansindependent of the pawl and ratchet for driving the shaft at a highspeed, said means being brought into operation without interrupting theengagement between the pawl and ratchet, substantially as described.

4. The combination witha shaft, of asource of power, a driving member,connections from said source of power to said driving member whereby itmay be driven at a given speed, a

driven member in engagement with the driving member, means wherebysaiddrivcn member drives the shaft, and connections independent of saidengaging driving and driven members from the source of power to theshaft whereby the shaft may be driven at a higher speed than the speedof said driving member, said driven member being adapted to then runahead of the driving member without being disengaged therefrom,substantially as described.

5. The combination with a shaft, of a source of powerja driving member,connections from said source of power to said driving member whereby itmay be driven at a given speed, a driven member in engagement with thedriving member, means whereby said driven member drives the shaft,connections independent of said engaging driving and driven members fromthe source of power to the shaft whereby the shaft may be driven at ahigher speed than the speed of said driving member, said driven memberbeing adapted to then run ahead of the driving member without beingdisengaged therefrom, and means for connectvk 3, all

ing the driven member to and disconnecting it from the shaft,substantially as described.

6. The combination with a shaft, of a source of power, drivingconnections between the shaft and the source of power including a movingpawl and ratchet, said connections operating to drive the shaft at agiven speed, and driving connections independent of the pawl and ratchetbetween the source of power and the shaft for driving the shaft at ahigher speed, said connections being brought into operation withoutinterrupting the engagement between the pawl and ratchet, substantiallyas described.

7. The combination with a shaft, of a source of power, driving mechanismbetween the source of power and the shaft, said mechanism including apawl and ratchet for driving the shaft at a given speed, means forconnecting one of said members to and disconnecting it from the shaft,and driving connections independent of the pawl-and-ratchet drivingmechanism for driving the shaft at a higher speed, said connectionsbeing brought into operation without interrupting the engagement of thepawl and ratchet, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a shaft, of fast and loose pulleys mountedthereon, a belt for driving either of said pulleys, a driving member,reducing-gearing between said driving memher and the loose pulley, adriven member in engagement with said driving member, means whereby saiddriven member drives the shaft, the driven member being adapted to runahead of the driving member when the shaft is driven from the fastpulley, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a shaft, of fast and. loose pulleys mountedthereon, a belt for driving either of said pulleys, a pawl-and-ratchetmechanism one member of said mechanism being connected to the shaft, andred ucing-gearing between the mwl-and-ratchet mechanism and the loosepulley, one member of the pawland-ratchet mechanism being adapted to runahead of the other when the shaft is driven from the fast pulley,substantially as described.

10. The combination with a shaft, of fast I and loose pulleys mountedthereon, a belt for driving either of said pulleys, a pawlandratchetmechanism, means for connecting one member of said mechanism to anddisconnecting it from the shaft, and. reducing-gearing between the loosepulley and the pawl-andratchet mechanism, the member of thepawland-ratchet mechanism which is connected to and disconnected fromthe shaft being adapted to run ahead of the other member without beingdisengaged therefrom when the'shaft is driven from the fast pulley,substantially as described.

11. The combination with a shaft, of fast and loose pulleys mountedthereon, a belt for driving either of said pulleys, a pawl,reducing-gearing between the pawl and the loose In testimony whei'eof Ihave hereunto set pulley, a ratchet with which the pawl engages, my hand1n the presence of two subscribing" and a clutch mechanism forconnecting the w1tnesses.

ratchet to and disengaging it from the shaft, MAURICE B. HULL. 5 theratchet being adapted to run ahead of the Vitnesses:

pawl when the shaft is driven from the fast F. W. H. CRANE,

pulley, substantially as described. S. ROEHM.

